Kurdistan’s Weekly Brief Feb 16

Turkey (Bakur or North of Kurdistan)

People’s Democratic Party (HDP) Co-President Selahattin Demirtaş stated that genocide was taking place in Cizre Province, and called upon everyone to increase the level of resistance. Demirtaş noted that Cizre would not kneel down before AKP policies. Also Osman Baydemir, MP of HDP stated in Washington “458 civilians have lost their lives in attacks carried out by the government” since August of 2015 due the curfews imposed by the government. 110 bodies were recovered from Cizre after Turkish security forces lifted the curfew last week.

Aninternational delegation led by South African Leader Nelson Mandela’s lawyer Essa Moosa from the International Peace and Reconciliation Initiative has planned a three-day visit to Turkey on February 14th to contribute efforts for the ending of the isolation on the Kurdish leader and the ongoing war in North Kurdistan. The 11-person delegation which will arrive in Istanbul tomorrow will meet committees from HDP, CHP and AKP before being granted a visit to the Island of İmralı on 16 February.

Syria (Rojava or West of Kurdistan)

According to local sources, Assad regime artillery shelledBashmera village on Feb 10. Despite huge damages the shelling inflicted upon the villagers, it did not cause any casualties. In recent days, Afrin Canton has hosted a new wave of IDPs numbering over 40,000 who fled Aleppo following Assad regime victories.

The Turkish army has shelled Kurdish-held positions in northern Syria for a third day despite Washington’s call on Turkey to cease massive artillery fire on Kurdish targets near the city of Azaz in northwest Syria leaving Civilian Casualties including women and children. The Turkish bombard targeted an air base recently retaken from Islamist groups. “We are concerned about the situation north of Aleppo and are working to deescalate tensions on all sides,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement Saturday.

Syrian Democratic Forces liberated several areas north Aleppo: Alqamaiya, Ziarat, Tel Ajar, Dir Jamal, Menagh, Mengah airbase, Kifrnaya, Ayin Deqnah, Marenaz, and Tell Rifaat. Meanwhile Turkish prime minister Ahmed Davutoglu said on Monday Ankara would not allow the town of Azaz in northern Syria currently controlled by Islamist groups to fall to the Kurdish YPG forces and promised the “harshest reaction,” if the group attempted to re-take the city. Salih Muslim, the co-chair of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) statedto Reuters: “Turkey has no right to intervene in the internal issues of Syria.” He added: “the air base [Mengah] was in the hands of Al Qaeda affiliated group of Al-Nusra Front.”

Iraq (Bashur or South of Kurdistan)

Following the announcement of Gorran’s proposed reform package, Tofiq said, “The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) does not have an economic crisis, it has a cash crisis.” In a press conference on Sunday (Feb.14), Gorran called for dissolving and restructuring the government of the Kurdistan Region. In an interview with Voice of America, Tofiq confirmed that Nawshirwan Mustafa, the Secretary-General of Gorran who is currently in the U.K., was aware of the reform package presented on Sunday February the 14th. Tofiq called for the political parties to come to a solution on the economic and political crisis facing the region.

Government employees continue to boycott their jobs demanding the Kurdistan Regional Government to pay their salaries for the past months including Customs employees, traffic police, and teachers. The Kurdistan region is facing financial crises due the drop in oil price, the war on ISIS and corruption.

ISIS militants attacked Kurdish forces in Iraq with mustard gas last year, the first known use of chemical weapons in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein, according to one Western official. A source at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) told Reuters that laboratory tests had come back positive for the sulfur mustard, after around 35 Kurdish troops were taken sick on the battlefield last August.

Kurdistan region president Masoud Barzani participated in the annual Munich Security Conference. During his visit to Germany he held meetings with Iraqi Prime minister, King of Jordan, President of Croatia, President of Macedonia, and Foreign ministers of United Kingdom, Italy, France, and Egypt. Barzani also held meeting with Amb. Brett McGurk the Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL and Chairman of foreign relations committee at U.S senate Bob Crocker.

Iran (Rojhelat or East of Kurdistan)

NNSROJ: Turkey Killed 3 members of PJAK, including one high-ranking female. As a result of recent Turkish airstrikes, three members of Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) have lost their lives. In a statement issued in February 12, PJAK published the name of those three fighters who had been killed on February 4 as a result of Turkish airstrikes on their position in Qandil Mountain in Iraqi Kurdistan. The statement read: “as a consequence of the Turkish warplanes airstrikes, Ms. Golnaz Alipour from Orumiyeh, Mr. Emra Turker, and Mr. Farzad Karimi have lost their lives.”

HRANA: A civilian Kurd from Kermanshah was reportedly killed by Islamic regime police. A local reported to Human Rights Activists News Agency that on Sunday 31th January, the police tried to seize the coffeehouse owned by Hamed Mozaffari because of lack of permission. According to the source, after his resistance and spar, one of the officers with a direct shot killed Hamed Mozaffari. Hamed Mozaffari’s family while confirming this news said that they had complained and would pursue through legal channels, but they refused to comment further.

HRANA: Aso Rostami, a civil rights activist, was released on bail for the first time in 16 months. Aso had been arrested due to his participation in a peaceful, pro-Kobane demonstration in front of the United Nations Representation Office in Tehran in October 2014. Due to his criticism of the human rights situation and of death penalty in Iran, propaganda against the regime, expressing sympathy towards families of political prisoners and of those sentenced to death penalty, participation in pro-Kobane demonstration, having relationship with human rights activists, and insulting the Supreme Leader was sentenced to 7 years’ imprisonment.